Testing microelectronic biofluidic systems

According to the 2005 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, the integration of emerging nondigital CMOS technologies will require radically different test methods, posing a major challenge for designers and test engineers. One such technology is microelectronic fluidic (MEF) arrays, which have rapidly gained importance in many biological, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications. The advantages of these systems, such as operation speed, use of very small amounts of liquid, on-board droplet detection, signal conditioning, and vast digital signal processing, make them very promising. However, testable design of these devices in a mass-production environment is still in its infancy, hampering their low-cost introduction to the market. This article describes analog and digital MEF design and testing method

Integration of a failure monitoring within a hybrid dynamic simulation environment

The complexity and the size of the industrial chemical processes induce the monitoring of a growing number of process variables. Their knowledge is generally based on the measurements of system variables and on the physico-chemical models of the process. Nevertheless this information is imprecise because of process and measurement noise. So the research ways aim at developing new and more powerful techniques for the detection of process fault. In this work, we present a method for the fault detection based on the comparison between the real system and the reference model evolution generated by the extended Kalman filter. The reference model is simulated by the dynamic hybrid simulator, PrODHyS. It is a general object-oriented environment which provides common and reusable components designed for the development and the management of dynamic simulation of industrial systems. The use of this method is illustrated through a didactic example relating to the field of Chemical Process System Engineering

A methodology for the decomposition of discrete event models for parallel simulation

Parallel simulation has presented the possibility of performing high-speed simulation. However, when attempting to make a link between the requirements of parallel simulation and discrete event simulation used in commercial areas such as manufacturing, a major problem arises. This lies in the decomposition of the simulation into a series of concurrently executing objects. Using the activity cycle diagram simulation technique as an illustrative example, this paper suggests a solution to this decomposition problem. This is discussed within the context of providing a conceptually seamless methodology for translating simulation models into a form which can exploit the benefits of parallel computing

Inspection scheduling based onreliability updating of gas turbinewelded structures

This article presents a novel methodology for the inspection scheduling of gas turbine welded structures, based on reliability calculations and overhaul findings. The model was based on a probabilistic crack propagation analysis for welds in a plate and considered the uncertainty in material properties, defect inspection capabilities, weld geometry, and loads. It developed a specific stress intensity factor and an improved first-order reliability method. The proposed routine alleviated the computational cost of stochastic crack propagation analysis, with accuracy. It is useful to achieve an effective design for manufacturing, to develop structural health monitoring applications, and to adapt inspection schedules to airplane fleet experience.We are grateful to the Mechanical Technology Department of ITPAero (R) for supporting and helping us with this study. The invaluable guidance and feedback from Jose Ramon Andujar is recognized with great appreciation

RESEARCH UPDATES

Includes: Farmers' Markets and Tourism: Some Information About These Customers at a Regional Farmers' Market, by David B. Eastwood and John R. Brooker; Assessing the Extent and Causes of Supermarket Under-Capacity in Low-Income Rural Areas, by Phil Kaufman; Food-System Quality Control and Stage of Distribution, by Garth J. Holloway; A Reaserch Proposal: An Investigation of Quality Strategies Followed by Past Winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and Their Application to the Food Industry, by Robert R. Cangemi and Raymond H. Lopez; Development of a Produce Inventory System for Small Food Retailers: A Case Study, by J. Richard Bacon, Ulrich C. Toensmeyer and Charles Goulston; Speciality Foods Shops Count Customers (Current and Defections), by Forrest StegelinResearch and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,